Lost for words
▶ City transport official suspended for failing to clear illegal taxis after clumsy TV appearance
The director of a district’s transportation bureau in Xi’an, Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province was suspended for failing to answer questions on a TV program which seeks government advice, according to the district’s publicity authority.
A video clip of Liu Pengwu on February 11 went viral, in which Liu was rendered speechless by a battery of questions from the host on Gaoling district’s prevalence of unlicensed taxis.
Special supervision
“So, you don’t have a clue about why unlicensed taxis are so rampant?”
“How long have you been the director of the transportation bureau?” The host asked, adding that “Three years! How come the three problems still need another round of investigation after three years?”
“Can you not handle or dare not handle (these problems)?”
Liu said, “Um, I know, um, the previous investigation was not thorough, and I hope to get the problems solved through exposure from this TV program.”
Ironically, the transportation bureau is located across the bus station.
“Did you notice the reported problem since your office is right across the bus station?” the show host asked. Liu dodged the question.
Gaoling is 40 kilometers north of downtown Xi’an, which was a prefecture before being upgraded as a district of the city. As far as Liu is concerned, one of the reasons for the district’s rampant unlicensed taxis is the relatively weak infrastructure construction and weak management of the bureau.
Jointly hosted by the city’s Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Xi’an TV station, the livestreamed TV program “Conduct of the Party and government officials” of the Xi’an TV station was launched in July 2017 aimed at seeking solutions from the government for the daily problems of the people.
Recurrent problem
According to an investigation by the TV program on January 28, some 20 private vehicles were parked on both sides of the road in front of the district’s passenger depot, and their owners were busy searching for passengers coming out of the station.
Several motorcycle taxi riders asked the reporter where he was heading. When asked whether they would be checked halfway, the rider said that the traffic police rarely check on them.
Because of the absence of supervision, these unlicensed taxis and motorcycles seek rides in front of the station’s exit or in the middle of the road. Many passengers shunned them for their excessively “passionate” solicitation.
A previous report also showed the district’s unlicensed taxi problem. On July 30, 2018, a citizen filed a complaint on a government advice-seeking platform about an unlicensed taxi driver who hurt a passenger. Four days later, Gaoling’s transportation bureau said that the authority launched a campaign targeting illegal and unlicensed taxis. Twenty-one illegal taxis were punished and more than 150 such cases were corrected.
‘Soul interrogation’
The TV program aims to solve grass-roots problems closely related to people’s livelihoods and daily lives in Xi’an. Citizens can dial a hotline to report problems, and the relevant officials in charge will be invited to the news studio for “interrogation.” The program has invited hundreds of government officials and other people in charge of the issues that are uncovered, and solved near 600 problems since its launch.
It has attracted rave reviews online. A netizen said that the program is doing good for the people as it pushes the government to do more.
Program host He Hong also won praise for his sharp language and humor. Netizens said He gave many officials “soul interrogations” in the previous episodes.
People’s Daily, the official publication of the CPC, reposted the video Wednesday on its Sina Weibo account, China’s Twitter-like social media platform, saying that the program hit directly at the slackness in government. Instead of intentionally creating an embarrassing scene, the conflict poked at the core of the problem. The post also said that compared to the hot discussion, people were more concerned about the city management. Responsibility comes along with power, and media needs more pointed hosts.
A statement released by Gaoling authorities on Friday said that a twomonth management campaign on the problem will be launched, and the district’s commission for discipline and inspection authority has joined the investigation. Government employees will be punished once found breaching the law and regulations.